(http://static.squidoo.com/resize/squidoo_images/250/draft_lens5968212_1248013544-Simutrans-_OpenTTD-transport-simulation-showdown.png)
I am a Linux gamer, and a huge fan of transport sims (from the Hoary days of a-train and the original Simcity - arguably a transport sim in part). For a long time, I only knew of OpenTTD and was ignorant to the charms of Simutrans. Funnily enough, the current Sourceforge Community Choice Awards (http://forum.simutrans.com/index.php?topic=2169.0) revealed the existence of Simutrans to me. I started playing it, I tried out pak128, got to know it a bit, floundered around like a newbie (which I still am on Simutrans), found a bug (which I reported) and a couple of others I didn't have enough info to report, read the wiki and decided to start comparing it with OpenTTD. It compares very favourably. I then wrote a blow by blow comparison of the two, and what I like about them..OpenTTD vs Simutrans | The Linux Transport Simulation Showdown (http://www.squidoo.com/linux-transport-simulation-showdown).
Please feel free to take a look and correct me where I am wrong, vent spleens or add points that I have clearly missed. I think that they are both great games clearly with a huge overlap in genre.
The image was done in simutrans, using Pak128 by the way. Logos were dropped in with GIMP - probably quite badly!
Very interesting article - it is always good to see Simutrans get some favourable publicity! One minor correction: in recent versions of Simutrans, track laying can be undertaken by clicking and dragging as well as clicking the start and end points. This makes planning routes easier. This can also make it easier to prevent tracks from joining when they are laid diagonally.
Overall, though, an excellent introduction to Simutrans for new players or those already accustomed to OTTD. :-)
Some notes/thoughts as I think of them:
- diagonal rail can be a little difficult, but the click-and-hold makes it easier to figure out which tiles to start and stop on
- hold CTRL while you click-click or click-and-drag to force straight (works on any network type)
I'm also curious - how often does Simutrans crash? My impression is, from my personal experience, I suppose -- it's quite stable. *shrug*
Well-written, and I will gladly send people to that page for information. :)
QuoteInstalling Simutrans
Simutrans is fairly easy to install with just the defaults.
(...)
To get nice graphics, you can go onto the simutrans website and install additional pak files. This is not required, but optional, but the pak128 looks very good. Pak64 is the default, it has the most features and has had the most time put in so far. This is for good reason - the lead developers of Simutrans personally contributed to it.
http://www.squidoo.com/linux-transport-simulation-showdown#module46794522
I'm glad because I'm seeing the site is reaching its goals. :D
End Of The Line - The Summary: Simutrans 8 x 4 OTTD
http://www.squidoo.com/linux-transport-simulation-showdown#module47018282
;D
I've also read it, and it's a very enjoyable read. Well written and argued. I hope many more people follow this recommendation..
QuoteI strongly recommend reading the Simutrans Starter Guide before getting stuck in - it may save you making newbie mistakes and get over things that take days to learn.
Perhaps we might add this comparison to the OTTD to Simutrans wiki section..
I wrote about reading the guide to save people doing what I did, playing for a couple of days before trying the guide and having a few "doh" moments realising it could have saved me a while figuring things out.
I have made the mention of dragging routes a bit clearer.
The crashes I have seen tend to be of the type where I click one thing and it goes pop. Underground mode has lead to one. Others have been while routing stuff. I have seen one playing in Windows and 2 playing in Linux. Being a developer by trade, I should probably make some notes to report any crashes I see. I also have seen a "disappearing bus" bug - where it ended up in the same place rotated, and had some trouble with blocked lines (which the b key let me sort out) - both of which I have reported on these forums...
Thanks for the feedback guys!